Mountain rescuer Thomas Merkel and his rescue dog, Jessy, look for a potential avalanche victim in a snow cave near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, during a drill of the local Mountain Rescue Services. Heavy snowfall in the Alps region the last few days has increased the threat of avalanches.

A rescuer is lowered onto the cruise liner Costa Concordia aground in front of the harbor of Giglio Island after hitting underwater rocks Jan. 13. Emergency workers fear that the ship could slip from its resting place on a rocky shelf and slip into deeper waters.

Divers of the Italian paramilitary Carabinieri police work near the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Giglio Island. A magistrate in Italy has said she ordered the house arrest of the ship's captain because there is a risk he may repeat his "criminal conduct."

Police officers detain a man wearing a grim reaper costume who tried to take part in an unauthorized stage protest outside the Interior Ministry headquarters in Moscow. The sign on the protester's chest reads: Corruption.

An Orthodox Christian monk holds a cross at Ure Kidane Mihret monastery at Lake Tana in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Ethiopian monks and priests are preparing for the annual festival of Timkat, which celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. The festival will begin Jan. 19.

A stuntman performs on a "Wall of Death" at the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati during the annual monthlong Hindu religious fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India.

Pictures in the News | Jan. 18, 2012

Wednesday’s Pictures in the News begins high in the Alps of Switzerland, where Lindsey Jacobellis competes during the qualification at the women’s snowboard cross World Cup race in Veysonnaz. Next door in Germany, mountain rescuer Thomas Merkel and his rescue dog Jessy look for a potential avalanche victim in a snow cave near Garmisch-Partenkirchen during a drill, as the danger of avalanches grows in the Alps region after heavy snowfall.

Divers of the Italian paramilitary Carabinieri police are in the water close to the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Giglio Island. A magistrate in Italy has said she ordered the house arrest of the cruise ship’s captain because there is a risk he may repeat his “criminal conduct.” See Gallery

On the protest front, an Occupy London supporter performs songs outside the High Court. The City of London Corporation has won its legal bid to have the Occupy London movement removed from outside St. Paul’s Cathedral. And police officers detain a man wearing a grim reaper costume after he tried to take part in an unauthorized protest just outside the Interior Ministry headquarters in Moscow.

Elsewhere, a devotee plunges into the ice-cold water of a lake in Minsk, Belarus, to celebrate Orthodox Epiphany; Ethiopian monks and priests are preparing for the annual festival of Timkat, which celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River; and an Indian stuntman performs on a “Wall of Death” at the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati during the annual monthlong Hindu religious fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India.